The Competitive Enterprise Institute believes the proper role for government is to provide consumers with accurate, unbiased guidance that informs consumer choice. But, whether it is the substances we prefer, how we entertain ourselves, what dietary habits we maintain, or how we pursue personal health, consumers ought to have the right to make decisions for themselves.
Consumer Freedom Issue Areas
Featured Posts
Blog
California’s $20 fast food worker minimum wage a regressive tax
California’s new $20 an hour minimum wage for fast food restaurants has turned into a regressive tax on the state’s low-income residents. People who wanted…
Blog
FDA makes lab test power play
The Food and Drug Administration has just released its long anticipated final rule that explicitly asserts its claim of authority to regulate laboratory-developed-tests (LDTs)—tests that are designed, manufactured,…
Blog
Department of Energy is coming after our light bulbs – again
We have already said goodbye to the incandescent light bulb, thanks to federal regulations. Will its replacement be next? Department of Energy (DOE) efficiency regulations…
Search Posts
Blog
Health “Advocates”: Tax And Regulate Responsible Drinkers
“Don’t just lean in, barge in,” said Rebecca Ramirez of Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health at the opening of the Alcohol…
Blog
Protectionist Law Proposed In New York Would Hit Wine Consumers Hardest
While most states are desperately trying to figure out ways to encourage business development and reduce the cost of consumer goods, New York is considering…
Forbes
Barack Obama’s BRAIN Initiative Vs. Bioengineered Gills And One-Wheeled SegWays
In a widely reported announcement, President Barack Obama outlined a major research initiative to map the human brain, building on…
Blog
CEI Podcast For March 28, 2013: The TSA’s Illegal Body Scanners
Despite a court order, the TSA is still dragging its feet on complying with the law. Fellow in Land-use and Transportation Studies Marc Scribner has…
Blog
When The Nanny State Kills
The government told people to switch from saturated animal fats to unsaturated vegetable fats. But that advice may have killed a lot of people.
Blog
The Cancer Clusters That Weren’t
A recent post in ACSH Dispatch examines an interesting question: How likely is it that some U.S. communities have elevated cancer rates, a.k.a, "cancer clusters,"…
Blog
Vitter Amendment To Ban Drug Patent Settlements Would Raise Pharmaceutical Prices
With time running out for the Senate to act on a continuing budget resolution, members are trying to find some magic pot of money that…
Blog
Minnesota’s 300% Alcohol Tax Hike Will Hurt Consumers And Businesses
Politicians love to sell alcohol tax hikes as pennies on the drink that won’t really hurt anyone’s pocketbook, while helping to pay for the…
Blog
Rand Paul: No National ID System, Including E-Verify
E-Verify is the Internet-based national identification, which the Senate wants to impose on all workers and their employers. The system, as proposed by the White…
News Release
CEI Analyst on Court Overturning Soda Ban in NYC: “Sweet!”
WASHINGTON, Mar. 11, 2013 — A state judge in New York has struck down the ban enacted by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on…
Blog
No, Hugo Chavez Did Not Improve Health Or Human Development In Venezuela
Reuters’ recent obituary for Venezuela’s anti-American strongman, Hugo Chavez, obscured the fact that he made life worse for his countrymen — worse, that is, than…
Blog
Human Achievement Of The Day: Using HIV To Cure Leukemia
The title of the Vimeo video below is “Fighting Fire with Fire,” which conveys fairly well what doctors from the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) and…
Blog
Capitalists Do It With The Lights On: Human Achievement Hour 2013
It’s that time of year again when we at the Competitive Enterprise Institute celebrate the innovative power of humanity and demonstrate our commitment to protecting…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: March 1, 2013
National: The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit to block Anheuser-Busch Inbev from taking full control over Negro Modelo. A few weeks later…
Blog
The Dangers Of Crying Wolf On BPA
Anyone with an interest in the science of bisphenol A (BPA)–a chemical used to make hard, clear plastics and resins that line food containers — should read…
Daily Caller
Beer market needs liberty, not lawsuits
The U.S. Department of Justice wants to protect your ability to buy cheap beer. At least, that’s what it’s claiming to do in its January…
Blog
National ID, By Itself, Violates Liberty
As I have pointed out over the past month and The Wall Street Journal’s Danny Yadron noted last week, many members of…
Human Events
Chicago Adults Could Be Forced to Give Up Energy Drinks
Are adults responsible enough to choose whether or not to consume energy drinks? Chicago Alderman Edward M. Burke doesn’t seem to think so. He introduced…
Blog
CEI Podcast For February 21, 2013: The Wages Of Sin Taxes
CEI and the Adam Smith Institute have teamed up to publish a U.S. edition of Christopher Snowdon's study "The Wages of Sin Taxes." He argues…
News Release
Sin Taxes Fail to Tackle Sin, Report Finds
WASHINGTON, D.C., February 20, 2013—From alcohol to tobacco to sugary or caffeinated foods and beverages, price increases known as “sin taxes” that target politically incorrect…
National Review
Smearing the Tea Party with Taxpayer Money
You may be aware of a recent study that suggested that the Tea Party was founded by Big Tobacco. My colleague Hans Bader has been…
Huffington Post
National Cancer Institute Funds Tea Party Witch Hunt
What was the National Cancer Institute (NCI) thinking when it decided to spend $678,952 to fund a notorious political activist to conduct a "scientific" research…
Huffington Post
Secrecy surrounds company suing Consumer Product Safety Commission
“The public does not have a right to know everything. Records are sealed for many and various reasons, generally to protect the innocent,” said Fran…
Blog
Breast Cancer Victims Suffer From Foolish Priorities
In government, political priorities often supersede science and good health policy. In fact, a recent government report may shift funding away from useful research…
Huffington Post
Safety shouldn’t be NASA’s top priority
It has been a century since the Panama Canal was completed. It was the greatest transportation project of its time, made possible only by new…
Blog
Herbicide Poses No Cancer Risk In Drinking Water
Over the years, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) have repeatedly issued bogus reports claiming that Americans…
Study
The Wages of Sin Taxes
In The Wages of Sin Taxes, Chris Snowdon reveals that sin taxes not only do little to limit the use of “bad” products, they do…
Blog
The New National Identification System Is Coming
“Maybe we should just brand all the babies.” With this joke, Ronald Reagan swatted down a national identification card -- or an enhanced Social Security…
Blog
Cancer Risks Unlikely From Foam Cups
Whatever happened to plastic foam coffee cups? Visit any to-go coffee shop and you will most likely only find paper cups that burn your…
Blog
Germs In Reusable Grocery Bags Can Prove Deadly
Cloth supermarket bags may be fashionable, but they can also prove deadly, according to a recent research paper published by the University of Pennsylvania…
Huffington Post
Lockheed Martin joins forces with Louisville-based Sierra Nevada in building Dream Chaser
Rand Simberg, a space analyst and adjunct scholar at the Washington, D.C.-based Competitive Enterprise Institute, said Sierra Nevada’s partnership with Lockheed gives it…
Blog
$180 Billion Wasted On Head Start; Progressives Seek To Ban Private Schools And Homeschooling
The Head Start program has now wasted $180 billion, but it has no lasting effect on student achievement. In the long run, children who…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: January 25, 2013
National: According to the Brewers Association, the trade group that represents smaller craft breweries, the Small BREW Act will be reintroduced in Congress in…
Blog
SEC’s White May Be All Right, But Cordray’s CFPB Still A Constitutional Catastrophe
Today, President Obama will send to the Senate two nominations for two key financial regulatory posts. Noting that both of the nominees subject to Senate…
Blog
Greens Complain About BPA-Free Products They Helped Spur
Anti-chemical environmental activists rarely consider the consequences of their policies. They demonize chemicals that have been used safely for decades and advance chemical bans…
Blog
TSA’s Body Scanner Shuffle Continues, Agency Still Flouts The Law On Body Scanners
A great deal of news coverage today has been given to the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) decision to remove backscatter X-ray strip-search machines from U.S.
Blog
Problematic Green Advice On Reusable Bottles
Environmental activists launched a campaign several years ago to demonize and promote bans on bottled water, suggesting that people find more “energy efficient” and…
Huffington Post
Beer Distributors Say Yes To Middlemen
The NBWA study comes less than a month after the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a conservative Washington, D.C. policy shop, launched a broadside against the…
Blog
Dumb And Dumber BPA “Science”
Rationalizations to support claims that the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) poses a real and serious health threat have gone from dumb to dumber! Even reputable…
Blog
Washington’s Liquor Privatization Did Increase Prices, But Also Selection And Availability
Since selling off the state-owned liquor monopoly, many Washington State residents have noticed an unfortunate development; despite what proponents of privatization promised, the cost of…
Blog
Mother Tackles Hype About Chemicals On “Stossel”
The Independent Women’s Forum’s Senior Fellow Julie Gunlock takes on hype related to bisphenol A and chemicals in general on Fox Business Network’s…
Blog
Qualified Mortgage Rule Is One Of Many Dodd-Frank Boots To Drop
The first thing that should be said about today's "qualified mortgage" rule is that it is just one of many new regulations the Consumer Financial…
Cato
The Ripple Effects of Flawed Agbiotech Regulation
The modern techniques of genetic engineering—also known as biotechnology, recombinant DNA technology, or genetic modification (GM)—offer plant breeders the tools to make old crop plants…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: New Year Edition 2013
With a new year comes a new opportunity to take stock in our past endeavors and renew our goals for the future. While many a…
Blog
Feds Say Hybrid Electric Vehicles Too Quiet, Noisemakers Should Be Mandated
Green paternalists often gush about the great potential for hybrid electric automobiles to reduce negative externalities, or social costs, such as local air pollution and…
Blog
Basel III Cliff May Be Averted, But Dangers Still Loom For Main Street Banks
After numerous criticisms from U.S. community banks and lawmakers of both parties, the international committee in charge of the Basel III bank capital agreement…
Blog
Mice Study Questions BPA-Obesity Link
Science is a long-term process that only brings meaning when numerous, scientifically robust studies produce consistent results. But when it comes to politically loaded issues…
Cato
Alleged Conflict of Interest on FDA Tobacco Panel
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon has allowed a lawsuit seeking an injunction by R.J. Reynolds and Lorillard Tobacco to proceed against the Tobacco Products…
Blog
Wheels In Motion To Crush Chemical Innovation
Chemical industry groups say they want to "modernize" the nation's chemical law by applying reasonable reforms that would prevent states from passing a patchwork…
Blog
Regulation Roundup
Montreal mulls requiring dogs to be bilingual, USDA regulates polydactyl cats, plus more.
Blog
CEI Podcast For December 12, 2012: Ending The Beer Monopoly
Fellow in Consumer policy Studies Michelle Minton argues that the beer industry in America is essentially a monopoly. In her new paper "Avoid a Monopoly…
Study
Avoid a Beer Monopoly By Setting the Market Free
The number of craft breweries continues to rise as states free up the market, making it easier for brewers to produce and sell their products.
News Release
New Report: ‘Big Beer’ Embraces Free Market, Attacked by Liberal Group
WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 11, 2012 — Big corporate beer interests seek to cut out the government-mandated middle man and let all breweries sell directly to…
Cato
Tobacco rules substitute one problem for another
“Cigar smoking knows no politics. It’s about the pursuit of pleasure, taste, and aroma,” someone once said. Premium cigars are enjoyed by adults as much…
Blog
Researchers Repudiate BPA Junk Science
The chemical bisphenol A (BPA) -- which is used to make hard, clear plastics and resins that line food containers -- regularly appears in news…
Blog
When Gridlock Is Good: The Case Of The Toxic Substances Control Act
When it comes to traffic, gridlock is never good. And in politics, it's a big problem when lawmakers can't agree on a plan to rescue…
Blog
The Temperance Movement Is Alive And Well
Today, Dec. 5, is the day to go out and raise a glass to celebrate the anniversary of the repeal of alcohol prohibition in the United…
Blog
What Is Green Chemistry?
Washington's state bureaucrats are soliciting proposals from "public and private sector firms to help create a technically competent and vibrant Green Chemistry Center to help…
Blog
American Capitalism Is More Compassionate Than European Socialism
America has not yet become Europe. And that’s a good thing. In Investor’s Business Daily, I empirically show that the American model of greater…
Blog
New Pressure On Schools To Adopt Quotas, Speech Codes, And Low Standards?
Lawsuits against schools and colleges have nothing to do with our troops and their needs. But that didn’t stop Senators from seeking to add a harmful…
Op-Eds
Senator Durbin is wrong on energy drinks ban
Several lawmakers have called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to “do something” to protect the public from the alleged threat of energy…
Blog
CEI Podcast For November 27, 2012: Rachel Was Wrong
Senior Fellow Angela Angela Logomasini talks about her forthcoming CEI study, "Rachel Was Wrong: Agrochemicals’ Benefits to Human Health and the Environment."…
Blog
Intrade Is Only The Latest CFTC Outrage
Every so often, a government agency will do something so outrageous it will shock even even everyday critics of "big government," as well as draw…
Blog
Good Riddance! — SEC’s Schapiro Sabotaged Startup Law Supported By Obama
When President Obama appointed Mary Schapiro to head the Securities and Exchange Commission four years ago, I kept an open mind and was even cautiously optimistic.
Blog
Myths About Thanksgiving
The first Thanksgiving didn’t usher in a time of plenty for the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims continued to confront the specter of starvation until they ditched…
Forbes
Regulatory Uncertainty Drives A Fish Farmer To Foreign Waters
Feeding 7 billion people is no small challenge. As it has from time immemorial, high quality protein harvested from the sea plays a major role…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: Turkey Day 2012 Edition
While most people in the U.S. are fantasizing about turkey slathered in gravy, yams, and pumpkin pie right now, beer connoisseurs throughout the nation --…
Blog
Overhyped Energy Drink Reaction
As has been reported extensively, the Food and Drug Administration has received several recent reports of alleged side-effects sustained by consumers who have ingested energy…
Breitbart
Harry Reid’s Online Poker Folds on Freedom
The Internet Gambling Prohibition, Poker Consumer Protection, and Strengthening UIGEA Act of 2012, which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is expected to introduce soon,…
Blog
Unionization Bad For TSA, Worse For Passengers
Along with the rising cost of bag fees, the most notorious nuisance air travelers must endure before reaching the terminal is the security checkpoint…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: Election Hangover Edition
How did the election affect alcohol laws? Alcohol is regulated by states, cities, counties and towns, and hundreds of them had alcohol-related measures on the ballot Nov.
Blog
D.C. Councilmember Mary Cheh Still Doesn’t Understand Driverless Cars
Last Sunday, The Washington Post published my op-ed criticizing the approach taken by Councilmember Mary Cheh's introduced legislation to legalize driverless cars in Washington,…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: Election Day Edition
While Mitt may not drink, many of the voting public and the candidates themselves hope to celebrate/drown their sorrows at the bar while the returns…
Washington Examiner
Would a soda ban make D.C. thinner?
First, it was Mayor Michael Bloomberg telling New Yorkers what's good for them by banning large sodas. Is a Bloomberg-style schoolmarm mentality now coming to…
Blog
Scapegoating Free Speech To Hide Massive Government Failures?
Earlier, I wrote about how the U.S. government had scapegoated free speech for the terrorist attacks in Libya, claiming that the attacks were…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: October 19, 2012
The only real change of late seems to be happening to leaves on trees. But on the alcohol regulatory reform front, the following states have…
Blog
Free Education? Not In My State!
Coursera is a California-based startup that partners with top-tier universities to provide free online courses to people around the world. Sounds like a pretty great service,…
Blog
Of Mice, Mushrooms, And Formaldehyde
According to New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof, the chemical industry is engaged in a grand conspiracy to hide the fact your kitchen cabinets…
Blog
New Study Questions Link Between Alcohol And Breast Cancer Risk
Every day, we make decisions about what to eat and drink that can affect our long-term health. Each individual is ultimately responsible for determining the…
Blog
Canadian Government Official Calls Anti-Abortion Speech Illegal “Bullying”
Bullying has been defined by opportunistic politicians to include a broad range of speech, including core political speech. The latest example is anti-abortion advocacy:…
Washington Examiner
A New Space Pioneer
This is the first operational private space flight,” Rand Simberg said; the adjunct scholar at the Competitive Enterprise Institute is an expert on space technology…
Blog
The CDC Thinks You Drink Too Much
If you’ve had twelve alcoholic drinks in the past year, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) considers you a “regular drinker.” That’s right: twelve…
Reason
Let Individuals Take Responsibility for Their Own Food Choices
From Baylen Linnekin's article in Reason: “Consumer groups play an essential role in a free market by [helping] individuals to make informed choices,”…
Orange County Register
A Losing Proposition on Food Labeling
California's initiative process – which allows "propositions" to be placed on the ballot quite easily – can lead to laws that are muddled, intentionally misleading…
Blog
Liberal Lawmakers To Rethink California “Green Chemistry”
California's Green Chemistry regulations have proven so unruly even the state's liberal lawmakers have begun to question the cost. The state legislature passed the…
Forbes
“Genetically Engineered” In California: A Food Label We Don’t Need
From “food miles” to farmers’ markets, it seems that consumers have never been more interested in the ways their food is grown. That’s one motivation…
Blog
Medical Junk Science: Canned Veggies May Make Kids Fat
Can feeding your child canned soup and vegetables make her fat? According to study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA),…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: Columbus Day Edition
Alcohol has a long and complex history in the USA. In fact, it’s probable that the Scandinavian Vikings that tried to conquer North America…
Blog
Lose The Helmet Already
So now we’re down to safe v. healthy. The “safe” approach to riding a bike is to wear a helmet, according to the Nanny Statists…
Blog
Fifty Years Later: Rachel Carson Is Still Wrong
Back in 1996, the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Jonathan Tolman authored an article entitled "Rachel Was Wrong,” in which he explained why biologist Rachel…
Blog
Study Finds Diisononyl Phthalate Safe For Toys
While news sources, greens, and U.S. lawmakers hype the risks about children’s exposure to the chemicals found in a host of plastic…
Study
Is There a Future for Generic Biotech Crops?
Farmers are eagerly awaiting the expiration of the patents on popular biotech traits over the coming few years. Unfortunately, a quirk in the way biotech…
News Release
Future of Generic Biotech Crops in Doubt
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 25, 2012 – The Competitive Enterprise Institute released a new study today finding that regulatory policy could inhibit the development…
Blog
Junk Science Is Worse For Your Health Than Egg Yolks
We all know that eggs contain a lot of fat and cholesterol. While that does not make them “bad,” most of us realize that if…
Blog
Can We Please Have A Grownup Discussion About Distracted Driving?
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released a new study on distracted driving [PDF]. According to the agency, 9 percent of total…
Blog
Alcohol Regulation Roundup: Back To School Edition
Alabama: Up until last year brewpubs were illegal in Alabama due to a law that prevented beer being sold on the same site where…
Fox News
Sugary drinks ban begs the question — who has the right to decide what you consume?
Consuming too much sugar can lead to obesity; few people would argue to the contrary. Yet not everyone agrees, as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg…
Fox News
Obama, Romney unlikely to share Bush’s space-travel ambitions
From Gus Taylor’s article in The Washington Times: “The real problem is Congress. They don’t really care about actually doing anything in space,”…
Blog
Regulation Of The Day 228: Peyton Manning’s Jersey
School officials forbid 8-year old Colorado boy from wearing his Peyton Manning jersey to school because of possible gang ties.
Blog
CEI Podcast For September 27, 2012: The Future Of Generic Biotech Crops
Senior Fellow Greg Conko discusses his new paper, "Is There a Future for Generic Biotech Crops? Regulatory Reform Is Needed for a Viable Post-Patent Industry."…